Melting
by Ignoramus
Summary: Plot: After the Tardis malfunctions and Rose has a narrow escape, Nine has a nightmare... NineRose. Please review. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anything for so long but my mum found my fanfic collection and wasn't too pleased with some of the more explicit fluff, shall we say. Still, I'm back now :D

The sequel to Leave You Behind and Take You With Me is in the balance cos I dunno whether to post it or not. So I started this instead. Allow me to express a heartfelt thank you to anyone who read and/or reviewed those two stories - it means a lot to me.

Here is something unconnected - Nine/Rose, because I like Nine, and I haven't written him yet... It's not boring! Honest... at least, I hope it isn't...

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MELTING 

Having set the co-ordinates for Madrid – a planet towards the outer reaches of the solar system - the Doctor was under the Tardis, tinkering with the on-board fire alarm, a cup of steaming hot tea perched on a small shelf directly above his head. Humming softly to himself, he heard a thump from above him and a yell from Rose.

"Doctor! You PROMISED not to leave the Gallifreyan spanners lying around on the floor! When I get my hands on you…"

He winced. Gallifreyan spanners didn't take very kindly to someone other than their owner touching them, even by accident. They exploded if that happened, in fact. Rather alarmingly. And Rose probably didn't appreciate being thrown to the other side of the control room…

In his rush to get out of his alcove help her and avoid getting slapped, in that order, his head knocked upwards and hit the shelf above him. Rubbing his head, he didn't even notice his cup of tea slide noiselessly to the edge of the shelf and plummet downwards. The porcelain cup shattered and scalding hot tea spilt all over the temperature regulator at the core of the Tardis. The Doctor swore violently. Here was trouble.

Without a regulator, the temperature inside the Tardis quickly plummeted. The engines failed, leaving them stuck in deep space, which was almost infinitely cold. And Rose was on board! Within minutes the temperature was approaching -40, something he knew humans couldn't cope with.

He was right – as he scrambled out into the control room Rose had already turned blue and was unconscious, her primitive human homeostasis shutting down. He picked her up in alarm, as she fell soundlessly into a cold-induced sleep, and ran to the Tardis engine room, which he knew the Tardis would try to keep as warm as possible. He laid Rose down right on top of the cooling engines, and paced the engine room in agitation. The Tardis' auto-repair systems would fix the problem eventually… but it would take time. And until then, he had to keep Rose as warm as possible. And hope she pulled through.

Rose lay there for several minutes as he watched her with bated breath, on a knife-edge between consciousness and a fatal coma that spelt death. He was incredibly worried about her. Seeing her like this hurt so much it scared him. He thought of what would happen if she didn't recover – and blinked back uncharacteristic tears. Why was he going soft all of a sudden?

He'd promised her mother he'd keep her from danger – but she wasn't even safe in his own ship. She could have died – she could still die if her systems didn't recover from the temperature loss. He was a danger to her. And he should've dropped her back on Earth ages ago. He knew that. He kept telling himself that.

But he just couldn't bring himself to do it, damn it! He kicked the Tardis in his frustration and cursed at the pain. He looked at Rose, saw her skin tone was slowly beginning to return, and beamed in relief. She'd made it! But the pain still racked him of what could have been. Seeing her like this brought back all the old memories of the Time War, the ones Rose herself had made him forget.

Rose made him feel an emotion in abundance that Time Lords weren't supposed to feel. She was so sweet, so vulnerable that he couldn't help but feel possessive of her, paternal even. _In loco parentis_, he thought wryly. And he was so grateful to her for making him forget his memories. Without her, he would have to face his mind's own torture. Rose would stop that happening again...

The temperature in the Tardis dropped further. The Doctor saw that the warmth of the engines wouldn't be enough and with a shuddering sigh he upped his metabolism and raised his body temperature. In seconds his skin was reddened slightly and glowing. He enveloped the still unconscious Rose in his arms, pressing a kiss to her lips quickly before he could stop himself. Oh, he was so glad she was alright! The effort it took to heat his body soon left him weak and within seconds he had blacked out too.

Rose woke up several hours later, totally unaware of her narrow escape. She winced at the stiffness and burning sensation in her fingers and toes. What had happened? She was lying under a leather jacket… the Doctor's leather jacket, she realized. He was still asleep, curled up on top of her, and they were lying on the Tardis' engines! What on earth was going on?

She wriggled out from under the Doctor with difficulty and stretched before watching him as he slept. It occurred to her that she had never actually seen him asleep… it made him strangely vulnerable. Human in a way she hadn't seen him before.

As she watched, the Doctor suddenely began to cry out, arms flailing in mid-air. Rose froze and watched in alarm as his gestures began to get more violent, more frantic.

"NO! You… you can't! Please… please… "

Sobbing in terror, he reached out with both hands and tore at the air in front of him, fingers scrabbling over empty space for something only he could see.

Rose gasped in understanding. The Doctor was having a nightmare! It all made sense… the Time War had come back to haunt him again. It was his dragon. His monster under the bed…

"Don't take her away from me! Not Rose!"

She stared. Okay, so she was in his nightmare.

"Don't you dare hurt her! I…" He muttered something incomprehensible.

He screamed suddenly, shrank backwards slightly in his sleep. Rose watched him slowly. She didn't know what to do, was frightened almost to tears. In that moment, the Doctor was only a little boy, lost and alone again, watching the same suffering over again behind closed eyes, Gallifreyan Holocaust on a loop cycle.

The Doctor had suffered enough.

And on a sudden impulse, Rose bent over him, her lips moving down, down... so close she could hear his scared and ragged breathing. Her lips had almost touched the Doctor's when...

His eyes snapped open suddenly. Rose lifted her head as quick as lightening and backed away slighly, staring at him cautiously. He looked at her, in a daze, unsure whether he was still dreaming. There was one expression in his eyes at that moment and it was desperate, all-consuming need, so acute that it stunned her.

"Rose…"

With that, he hugged her hard, his layers of self-confidence completely peeled away. His mask was gone, and his vulnerability showed, his real fear and terror - something he never showed to anyone. She could see everything. And right then, he was too scared to care.

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My faithful friend the chainsaw has returned... review review review! chainsaw growls menacingly 


	2. Chapter 2

Right, Chapter 2 is here. I just realised I forgot to mention a few important things, so:

1. This story is 3 chapters long. There, I've said it.

2. There's no fantastical plot, because this was intended as a breather from my main series, although it's unconnected.

I think that's it. Oh, and all reviewers will be thanked in the next and final chapter. Enjoy!

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The Doctor clung to her, and she just held him there, running her fingers through his short hair and murmuring gentle nothings into his ear. And the Doctor knew that she would never realise just how important she was. How could he ever save the universe if he didn't have Rose to help him through the bad times? The problem was... he shouldn't. He shouldn't need her! 

Everyone has a weakness...

He knew his too well as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry..."

Rose stared. "Sorry? What on earth for?"

"For... for... oh, for being so human!"

It still ate at him, the feeling that he should be there for Rose, not the other way round. So he jumped up from her arms suddenely, turned and ran from the engine room.

He hurtled down the corridoor, frantically putting up his mental barriers, re-freezing the ice around him that made him unreachable to anyone else. Rose - just by touching him - had begun to thaw it. And he couldn't let that happen.

He shouldn't depend on her! She was... human. And he let her see himself when he wasn't in control. His real self.

In the control room, he gazed out of the window, into the vortex outside. And his own conscience and reasoning turned traitor and argued against him. He shouldn't have shouted at Rose... He should never shout at Rose... Why not, for goodness' sake? She was only human... only a companion. Another in a long line, he thought drearily.

The truth hurt.

But it wasn't really the truth and he knew it. Rose was - dare he say it - special. Different. And he cared about her... but only as a friend... right? Right?

Rose crept into the room then, and stood there staring at him for a long moment.

He saw her reflection in the window, and turned abruptly. "Well?"

"What happened?" She spoke softly, enticingly. And the sound of her voice left him intoxicated him as he felt the desire for comfort again... but only for a moment. Control! He told himself firmly.

He turned away. "Nothing happened."

"Doctor..." She whispered almost inaudibly. She moved over to him and reached her hand forward.

"I know you too well..." Her fingers brushed the back of his hand slowly, moving over his knuckles, creating a soothing sensation...

"Don't!" He backed away, eyes wide. Rose was now staring at him concerned, and he realised she thought he was slightly mad. Great.

He sighed. "Rose... I... it's hard, okay? I mean, I'm a Time Lord, you're human - we're different."

"You were scared!" She told him, ignoring his last comment. "I couldn't've left you like that!"

He saw the emotion overflowing from those eyes... beautiful eyes, he thought before he could stop himself. And he struggled against the knowledge that if she hadn't been there he would have found it unimaginably worse.

"You should have." He muttered. "You should have left me there."

"Doctor, that's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said, and you know it."

She moved closer. "Y'know, you were always a bad liar..."

Oh, Rose was right - she knew him too well. And she was going to undo him with her kindness. Time Lords... did not cry. They didn't allow themselves to be comforted by anyone, least of all... humans.

He pushed her away almost roughly, instantly regretting his actions - but there was nothing he could do. He was approaching a point of no return.

So he opened his mouth and said the words he never, ever thought he would hear himself say.

"You're going home."

It was for her own good, the Doctor told himself, controlling the Tardis with an unusual harshness, ignoring its whines of protest and the sparks that shot from the control panel, burning his hand in retaliation.

She understood him like no-one else before. And there it was - the reason he was sending Rose away. She was different - he was becoming too attatched to her to let her go. And she was going to go one day - of that he was certain. When that happened, he needed to make sure he could pick himself up and carry on without her.

And the only way he could do that was to take her home.

She'd be safer there, after all, with Jackie and Mickey, fish and chips, working in the shop like she used to do. She'd be safe from the dangerous mind of a lonely Time Lord. That was his life. His bloody useless, miserable life!

He banged the control panel in his anger. This was how he was rewarded for saving the universe... well, whoop de do.

The little voice inside him begging him to stop was ruthlessly ignored as the ice around the Doctor hardened and he became almost machine-like. He wasn't thinking straight - he was no longer prepared to listen to reason, least of all from Rose.

Upon hearing the Doctor's last words, Rose had heard enough and her mood had changed like lightening. Within seconds she had thrown herself into a rage. She ran into the control room after the Doctor.

"What?"

"You're going home." He repeated icily.

"NO I'M NOT!"

On hearing this, the Doctor completed the co-ordinates for Earth and turned around in suprise. His blue eyes were so cold Rose shivered. When he saw he had hurt her, the Doctor outstretched his hand automatically but retracted it quickly before Rose could take it.

"Yes you are!"

"Are you deaf? NO I'M NOT!"

Rose roared at him, really in a state by this time. The Doctor stared at her in astonishment. He hadn't expected this... he's expected her to be sad, dejected, depressed even. Obviously, he'd underestimated her.

Rose stormed around the control room, face bright red, positively fuming.

"If you think I'm gonna sit there watchin' you crying... You listen to me now - I'm not about to leave you 'cos your ego's taken a battering. Get over yourself! God, sometimes I wonder how you ever got smart enough to save the universe..."

She ranted on and on, with the Doctor listening in such a state of shock at her outburst that at first he didn't take in anything of what she said. Suddenely, the Tardis jolted as they landed on Earth. The Doctor grabbed Rose by the scruff of her top with a grip that was only just firm enough to be threatening, and marched her outside the Tardis.

In his piloting, the Doctor had done an admirable job - they were bang in the centre of the Powell estate. It was a grey, rather chilly day, and storm clouds were brewing. When Rose tried to run for it, the Doctor picked her up and carried her down an alleyway, with Rose kicking and screaming all the way.

He ran down a final street with Rose in his arms and soon they were at the door to her flat. Well, all he had to do now was ring the bell and... tell Jackie he had to give Rose back, he supposed. He knew Jackie wasn't going to give in that easily. If Rose wanted to stay with him, Jackie would be behind her all the way...

I don't care! I'm going to do it...

And as he was about to ring the doorbell, the Doctor looked at Rose and actually heard what she was yelling about.

"Get it into that thick skull of yours! You can't take me back because... I love you!"

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Please review even if you didn't like it. Please! My chainsaw is actually very friendly once you get to know him... -chainsaw bares teeth at all readers-

See?


	3. Chapter 3

Hello! Here is Chapter 3, the final instalment of Melting. This story was actually supposed to be a oneshot! It just carried itself away... I don't write, my characters do it for me.

Right, REVIEWERS! You know I would've stopped writing ages ago if it wasn't for you people. pinktardis (my loyal reader and brilliant friend), Scout Girl (chainsaw's best buddy), HunterGiomanch (you are a litereary genius! and your reviews are lovely), oneoftheriddles (who sticks by my work no matter what), Whisper Luna (hello and thank you so very much), RagamuffinSundrop (I am in your debt for reviewing), daffodilTARDIS (author of fantastic work and an excellent reviewer), blackhairdye (thank you for reviewing my work and reading even on Teaspoon), doctorhoovian (my reader on Teaspoon who very kindly reviewed here too), floorpie (thank you for finding my stories and staying on to read the rest), LJQ, della, eb, izzfrogger and last but not least Light bulb in a cookie jar, who absoloutely outdid herself and reviewed every single one of my story chapters in one day! Thank you!

Phew! Alright, on with the story chapter. Hope you like...

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The Doctor stopped right there. He stood there on Jackie's doorstep and just stared at her.

"You what?"

Rose, who had been turning steadily redder the whole time, was now a rather violent shade of crimson and was looking at the ground, all traces of anger gone as she became incredibly embarassed by what had just slipped out. But the Doctor was so shocked he didn't even notice.

Rose just said the words he'd been secretly wanting to hear for... ages. Oh, he knew there couldn't be anything between them. His pride was too strong, for one thing. So he fought against it. But Rose had suprised him by how easily she'd stepped into his life. Travelling around the universe in a blue box just didn't seem to bother her. He had NEVER met anyone quite like her before. That, he supposed, was why he was so attracted to her. Why he'd made Emergency Programme One only a few days before. He didn't want anything to happen to her. But this! this was beyond all belief.

This was something he'd never imagined.

"You WHAT?"

"I... nothing." Rose muttered softly.

She hadn't expected this. She'd expected him to brush it off, like he did everything else. Time Lords, she had often remarked to him, were so insensitive. Well, apparantly not.

The Doctor frowned. "No, say it again."

He said it so forcefully, and the gleam in his eyes as he stared at her was so strong that Rose became convinced he was angry at her. In tears, she turned away, but he took her by the hand, so gently she was startled, and led her down the steps.

He walked away from Jackie's flat, not looking back, and didn't stop until they were in a green open space just outside the blocks of council flats.

He looked at Rose intently. "Rose, say it again. What you said before."

"I said... I said..." Blushing violently.

"YOU said you loved me, didn't you?" said the Doctor, dangerously quietly. And Rose nodded mutely, still staring up at him and still afraid.

"Hah! I knew it!" the Doctor yelled.

And Rose stared. She had never seen him so happy. He grabbed both her hands, smiling his head off, and spun her around before hugging her tighter than he ever had before.

Seeing the tears still drying on her face, he brushed one away with his thumb. He knew he had done that to her.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you ever cry again." And as he said that, he lowered his head... and kissed her.

It wasn't a desperate kiss. It wasn't rushed but slow and unhurried, as though the entire universe had stopped in that second. Which for the Doctor at least, it probably had. It was probably as unromantic as a kiss can possibly be - Nine never was a pretty boy. He didn't kiss like one either. His kiss started off lazy, then built up by degrees in a wonderful, spiralling crescendo. It was flawless yet completely without technique.

And during that kiss everything else was forgotten. Down with restrictions, with formalities! Down went the barriers of race, of class, of creed. Their kiss had narrowed all that down to just raw emotion - the final frontier had been opened, and out rushed an outpouring of the Doctor's real love and devotion, emotions buried within the depths of his soul that now surged to the surface, almost drowning Rose in the extent of their power and splendour. The Doctor could care. The Doctor could love. It was that simple - he just had to remember how. And their kiss was the first step along the way. It was a milestone.

Down went the hypocratic world that dictated that they must be apart.

In their eyes, the world existed just so they could love each other.

The Doctor picked her up and headed straight for the Tardis by unspoken agreement.

And from the window of her flat, Jackie had been watching, unseen to both of them. She had seen Rose and the Doctor from the minute they approached her flat. And what she saw after that gave her a unique insight into just how her daughter made the Doctor _feel. _She had seen him now as a broken man who was only in the process of being healed. Whatever he had gone through, the scars would still be there. But Rose was the only person who could pick up the pieces and glue him together.

He loved her. Of that she was certain.

So when he made her cry and then _kissed _her daughter, she didn't burst out of her flat carrying a baseball bat and demand that he release Rose. In fact, she doubted he'd have listened even then. Jackie saw the Doctor change from the moment he knew Rose loved him. The ice around him, his shields from emotion, were almost completely gone.

As the Doctor and Rose walked off into the sunset towards the Tardis, Jackie stared and she swore she had actually seen the ice dissolving in puddles around his feet. Rose and the Doctor both radiated a warming, intense happiness. And the ice - his last memento of what he used to be - was thawing. Changing.

Melting.

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And that's the end - before I go I just gotta mention that the beginning of Series 3 of my main stories Leave You Behind and Take You With Me will probably be up soon, when I get the entire series plot straight. Look out for it!

And please review. Chainsaw is going through an "I-love-people-grrrrrr" phase, so he doesn't bite now.

Sorry, a little insanity slipped in there. Please review. Thank you.


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